San Diego Unemployment Rises to 5.1 Percent in January; County Loses 26,200 Jobs

San Diego County's unemployment rate rose to 5.1 percent in January, up from 5 percent in December and 4.4 percent a year ago, the state's Employment Development Department announced today (Fri.) The county lost 26,200 jobs in January, a decline of 2 percent. For the full year between January of 2007 and January of 2008, there was a gain of 4,900 jobs, or 0.4 percent. As was to be expected, construction jobs dropped 2.4 percent in January from December and 7.4 percent from a year ago. Retail jobs were down 5.1 percent from December, a loss that could be anticipated, but they were also down 1.1 percent from a year earlier. Murtaza H. Baxamusa of the Center on Policy Initiatives, said the decline of 1,200 jobs in employment services is surprising, because "employers are more likely to hire temporary workers in a slow economy."

Comments

Now, you think the City used to have cash flow problems, wait until the next 2-3 years roll around.

The longer we wait to file BK the worse off we become. This proves it (or will prove it).

We have to use BK as a hammer on the public unions to negotiate some of their excesses. Vallejo is going to avoid BK, only AFTER the public unions saw that BK was a 100% done deal-only then did they cave in with concessions.

Response to post #1: Well said. Property taxes will be taking a big hit. Ditto sales taxes. Probably hotel tax (transient occupancy), too. Bankruptcy should be used as a hammer to get the municipal unions to wake up to what their greed is doing. Best, Don Bauder

It's higher than that. I know people who are not working (not disabled or retired) whose unemployment has simply run out. They are getting by from parents and savings. They're not being counted. Tons of self-employed and commission only people are on the bricks too from the housing/construction/mortgage bust.

It's time for "San Diego's ruling class" to save San Diego by paying back what they owe the taxpayers and families of San Diego at a time when San Diego needs financial and employment help the most.

If "San Diego's ruling class" doesn't do the right thing to save San Diego from BK and restore bond integrity by funding the negative cash flow from the "checks" and "balances" (as defined by Erie in Brash Cash) they have received from San Diego taxpayers over the decades, then they will have forced San Diego into BK.

Response to post #3: How do you think the ruling class gets where it is? With other people's money. They are the queens of corporate welfare. I remember the fights against both the Chargers and Padres giveaways. We opponents posited that there was nothing wrong with new sports stadia: they just should be funded with private capital. The ruling class gagged. Private capital? What's that? Best, Don Bauder

The highest Focus Priority is to focus on the corruption that the Reader has exposed in "The Rise and Fall of the Copley Press" and your multitude of other excellent exposes of U-T corruption that make it clear that most Copley wealth is due to the U-T’s exploitation of the citizens of San Diego.

It's time for the Reader to champion a demand in favor of the people of San Diego that Copley transfer assets to pay off San Diego debt that U-T corruption caused, especially since the U-T loves to pontificate with their holier than thou deranged rantitorials demanding others “Do The Right Thing.”

Response to post #5: I agree that Matt's cover story on the collapsing Copley empire was excellent. Do not expect Copley or any other overlord entity to put up money to help San Diego out of its financial mess. It's just not going to happen. If anything, those mendicants will be lobbying and editorializing for more welfare, such as a subsidized Mission Valley stadium for the Chargers. Best, Don Bauder

Thus the only conclusion all this is leading to is that the Davies forces are destroying America's Finest City so they can produce a 21st century version of slave labor to satisfy their lusts for tyranny and avarice by turning San Diego into America's Third World Village.